Superman returns... as a lacrosse coach

Credit: Matthew Healey

Brandon Routh hit it big in the 2006 blockbuster “Superman Returns,” but in his new made-in-Mass. flick “Crooked Arrows,” Brandon doesn’t wield any super powers — unless you count his lacrosse stick!

“Lacrosse Man: Don’t cross him!” Brandon joked, while in town yesterday to premiere the film with his co-star, Crystal Allen. “He would beat all the other Marvel characters.”

But would he defeat them at the box office? “The Avengers” has scored $1 billion worldwide thus far!

In “Crooked Arrows,” Routh plays Joe Logan, a Native American who returns to his reservation to run a casino but ends up coaching the local lacrosse team. And while his team of lax bros was portrayed by actual lacrosse stars, Brandon was a lot less familiar with the sport.

“I had a couple months, and I think I did a fair job of looking realistic,” said Routh. “But playing in a game of lacrosse? That’s a whole different story.”

“Crooked Arrows” was shot last year in lush outdoor spaces like the Topsfield Fairgrounds, St. John’s Prep and Governor’s Academy in Byfield. As one of the very few films about the sport, the “Arrows” crew knew they wanted to portray it realistically.

“That’s why the lacrosse community has rallied behind it so much,” said Routh. “It was paramount that lacrosse look really spectacular.”

This fall Routh will delve into comedy for his newest role on the CBS sitcom “Partners.”

“It’s what I’ve been pushing at for a long time,” said the actor.

While in town, Superman swung by Children’s Hospital Boston to visit some patients before swooping onto the red carpet at the AMC Boston Common.